Advice on Medical Debts Incurred by Minor

Thank you for your question about medical debts incurred as a minor. There are legal questions involved regarding responsibility for a debt, so it is also best practice to review your case with a lawyer.

Here are some guidelines and rules to help you understand medical debts and minors.

At what age is a child (or minor) responsible for medical bills

Whether you can be held legally liable for this debt depends on the laws of your state regarding debts incurred by minors. In most states, many obligations created by minors are considered void, as minors are not legally capable of entering binding contracts.

However, many states provide exceptions to this rule for debts incurred for necessities, such as non-elective medical treatment. Hospital care provided during the birth of your son could certainly be viewed as a necessity, so you may be liable for the debt.

Minors and the doctrine of necessaries

Some states require that the provider attempt to collect from the minor’s parents prior to turning to the minor for payment, as parents are generally liable for any necessary medical treatment provided to their minor children. This is called the doctrine of necessaries.

However, if your parents are unable to pay, the creditor may have a legal claim against you personally. Since the laws regarding debts created by minors vary significantly from state to state, I strongly encourage you to consult with an attorney in your state to discuss your rights and obligations in this situation. Consulting with an attorney in your area should provide you with the information you need to determine your liability and help you resolve this outstanding medical debt.

Your credit report and debts incurred as a minor

If you determine that the contract creating this obligation was not legally binding, then the account should probably not be appearing on your credit report. A debt must be legally enforceable for the listing to accurately show up on your credit reports. If you feel that this debt is not valid, you may wish to dispute any listings related to the account with the three major consumer credit reporting agencies — Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion. When you dispute the listings, you should explain to the credit bureaus that these debts are not legal debts due to the fact that you were a minor when the services were rendered; you may also wish to provide any documentation you have to substantiate your claim, such as a copy of your birth certificate, a hospital release form, and a copy of any state statute or court case which establishes that any contract entered into by a minor is void.

The Federal Trade Commission offers a free guide on disputing inaccurate credit report listings. In addition to disputing these accounts with the credit bureaus, you may wish to formally dispute the validity of the debts with the creditor and debt collector directly, which will put the creditor on notice that you do not believe this debt to be a legally collectable obligation. An example dispute letter can be found at the Bills.com Debt Do-It-Yourself page, though you will need to tailor this letter to the specifics of your situation, explaining the fact that you were a minor at the time the debt was incurred.

Statute of Limitations - are the debts past the limit?

Depending on how long ago you gave birth to your son, your state’s statute of limitations for the collection of this outstanding debt may have expired; if the statute of limitations has expired, the creditor would likely be barred from taking any legal action against you to collect on this account. Statutes of limitations vary from state to state and also depend on the type of debt being collected. For medical debts, which are generally considered written contracts, statutes of limitations generally range from three to six years, but are significantly longer in a few states.

To find out the statute of limitations for the collection of debts in your state, see the Bills.com resource Statute of Limitations Laws by State Also, you should know that, under federal law, delinquent accounts must be removed from your credit report 7 years after the date of first delinquency, which means that they will fall off your credit report within roughly seven and a half years of the date the account first became delinquent. If the age of this debt is approaching your state’s statute of limitations or the 7-year credit reporting limit, waiting for these time periods to expire may be an easier solution than actively trying to dispute the debt.

You should keep in mind that this may be a valid debt depending on your state’s laws related to obligations created by minors, so you should research your state’s laws and consult with an attorney before you decide the best course of action to resolve these accounts. If you find that you are liable for the debts and would like to try to resolve the accounts, you should visit the Bills.com Debt Help page to learn about various options available to consumers to help them resolve their outstanding obligations.

Insurance & Medical Debt

In regard to your insurance company not paying this medical bill, the options available to you will likely depend on the amount of time that has elapsed since the debt was incurred. Most insurance policies require that you dispute any claim denials within a certain period of time; if you do not meet the insurance company’s deadlines, they will likely refuse to pay this claim. If you did dispute the denial within the required time period and the insurance company still refused to pay your valid claim, you may wish to speak with your attorney to determine what recourse you have against your insurance company.

You may also wish to file a complaint with your state insurance regulatory agency regarding your insurance provider’s failure to pay this medical bill. If you contact your state Attorney General’s Office, they should be able to tell you how to file a formal complaint against your insurance provider.

As I mentioned above, the first thing you need to do is consult with an attorney to determine your legal liability for this debt. From there, you can determine how to best address the debt and credit reporting issues.

I hope this information helps you Find. Learn & Save.

Best,

Bill

Bills.com